The Ghana Charismatic Bishops’ Conference has called for the scrapping of the junior high school (JHS) and senior high school (SHS) systems to be replaced with the ‘O’ and ‘A’ level system because, according to them, the former is inferior.

They described the JHS and SHS educational systems as an inferior form of education because politicians and wealthy Ghanaians did not take their children to those two educational systems.

“Instead, they take their children to schools that do ‘O’ and ‘A’ levels because they can afford it. If JHS and SHS were not inferior form of education, why do they take their children out of them when they have the money to do so,” a communiqué issued by the Ghana Charismatic Bishops’ Conference (GCBC) said.

In a four-point communiqué issued in line with Ghana’s 60th Independence anniversary in Accra yesterday, the GCBC called for the reintroduction of ‘A’ Level education for the ordinary citizen, arguing that Ghana had been subjected to an inferior form of education through the JHS and SHS for many years.

The communiqué was issued by the General Secretary of the conference, Rev. Kwasi Deh. While calling on the government to change the JHS and SHS syllabi to be similar to that of the ‘O’ and ‘A’ levels, they also asked the teachers at the basic level and second cycle schools to upgrade their skills to prepare to teach the new syllabus.

The conference further underscored the need for every school to choose its own examination council, arguing that the competition would cause the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) to upgrade its systems in order that the leakages that had undermined the credibility of the JHS and SHS examinations would cease.

In a communiqué that touched on some major areas in the country, the conference urged the government to champion the needed transformation after 60 years of nationhood. The bishops argued that it was time for the government to depart from the old ways of doing things and embrace new ideas to move the country forward.

According to the communiqué, universities in the country would become more credible and attain higher standards if Ghana adopted the ‘O’ and ‘A’ levels approach to education.

Better roads

It regretted that after 60 years of self-rule, Ghana did not have three lanes to and from Kumasi or from Accra to Cape Coast and described as flawed the way of thinking, planning, managing, financing and creating of roads.

It said the advanced countries had something to offer Ghana in terms of financing the construction of roads and that it was unacceptable that after 60 years, vehicles sped on the country’s highways in opposite directions.

“There should be two or three lanes on either side with an island in between, so that head-on collisions are a thing of the past,” it added.

The communiqué advised the government to build road networks using concrete and also ensure the competent management of tolls received from the different tollbooths.

Poultry farming

The GCBC called on the government to place a ban on the importation of chicken and come out of agreements that were inimical to the poultry industry.

Furthermore, the religious body asked the government to set up a commission to investigate the quality of chicken imported into the country and added that “just as the European countries banned the importation of our products based on quality, we must also ban imported chicken based on quality.”

It stressed the need to encourage local farmers to restart poultry farming to create jobs for the people.

Fighting crime

The communiqué was of the view that the Ghana Armed Forces could release their helicopters, vehicles and highly trained officers to be involved in fighting the armed robbery menace in the country.

While insisting on putting out wanted lists of people with pictures, the GCBC encouraged the practice of rewarding people who reported armed robbery incidents.